Pikelny hopes to be a "Universal Favorite"

Friday, March 3, 2017 – Noam Pikelny of the Punch Brothers is out with a new solo disc, "Universal Favorite," on Rounder. Pikelny has released solo discs before, but on this one, he plays all of the instruments and sings as well. The banjo man covers songs of Josh Ritter ("Folk Bloodbath"), and Elliott Smith ("Bye"), Roy Acuff ("My Tears Don't Show"), and Roger Miller ("I've Been a Long Time Leavin' (But I'll Be a Long Time Gone") along with originals. Fellow Punch Brother Gabe Witcher produced.

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Noam Pikelny is the most ingratiating musical iconoclast you're likely to come across. He has deep roots in the Americana genre, and his playing, on banjo in most contexts, is precise and brilliant. Pikelny has produced a string of outstanding solo records, most recently "Universal Favorite." Despite the success of these solo efforts ("Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe" was an IBMA Album of the Year and received a Grammy nomination), Pikelny is best known for his »»»

Born of a joke between musicians about the album title, banjo player Noam Pikelny's latest solo offering is an engaging take on a classic bluegrass instrumental album from fiddler Kenny Baker. One of the best known of Bill Monroe's many fiddle players, Baker's original album came out in the early 1970's and featured many of the Bluegrass Boys along with Monroe himself, playing songs that they had made famous in the bluegrass scene. Pikelny, a member of Punch Brothers, »»»

Go ahead and insert a banjo joke here, the comedic side of me says, since Noam Pikelny won something called the 2010 Steve Martin Prize for excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, but it's hard to make fun of someone who has taken the oft-maligned instrument to new heights of melodicism and musical invention.
Pikelny is best known these days for his role in the Punch Brothers, the post-Nickel Creek refuge of Chris Thile. His band mates appear throughout this new solo outing and Punch Brothers »»»

Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»

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That probably made Jinks feel pretty darn good about how life has been... »»»

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It's been 17 years since we've had a new album from Tanya Tucker, so it's a real pleasure to hear her clear throaty vocals deliver these songs with her characteristic raw emotion. Tucker knows how to get into a song and make it her own »»»